Navigating the Joys of Being a WAHM

As a work-at-home mom (WAHM), your time is limited. But it’s also in demand, and there is only so much to go around. Feeling as though we don’t have enough hours in the day is the greatest challenge of being a working mom in the 21st century -- navigating your family time and learning how to manage a remote team are a close second and third. Here are a few tips on how to handle these issues while working from home, plus a few quick bullet points that will help you cut stress as you balance your responsibilities.

Family Time

On the outside, working for yourself when you have kids sounds like a dream come true -- and it can be. But the reality is that there are exponential challenges that face us each day, and these are often centered around the feeling of guilt that we are focused on our careers and not always on our family.

While there is no getting around being stretched a little thin from time to time, you can integrate family time into your workday. Wake up an hour or two before the kids so that you can get a jump on emails and other tasks. You also want to plan to eat lunch together whenever possible; it helps to have a few quick lunch ideas already together so that you’re not spending your entire lunch hour cooking. 

Travel

If you travel for work, get ready to learn how to juggle. Even if you don’t take your children with you, you still have to coordinate childcare, food delivery, and playdates. When they will hit the road with you, make sure you book a hotel with childcare amenities. The Points Guy blog also suggests utilizing a day drop-off childcare center or, if it’s within your budget, hiring a traveling nanny.

Virtual Meetings

If you’re part of a working team, chances are you’ll be utilizing video chatting software to participate in virtual meetings. FaceTime, Zoom and Skype are among the most popular programs and apps used for virtual communication, so get schooled up on how to most efficiently use them. Also be sure your home internet connection can handle the amount of broadband needed for the data -- the last thing you want is to cut out in the middle of a meeting.

If you are a leader or the owner of your business, you may have already considered bringing in a helping hand or two. Today, that often means hiring others -- often moms like yourself -- who will work from their homes. To build a virtual team, choose the workers who are comfortable with the work-at-home environment and the necessary technology. You may need to interview via video chat and also use some type of online skills assessment to ensure they can handle the job. Once you have your team members in place, check out Creating Open Space’s Leading Virtual Teams workshop to help you learn how to navigate leading a virtual work environment, which is vastly different from a brick-and-mortar setting.

General Business Tips

●      Handle housekeeping tasks early on. One mistake that some WAHMs make is not setting up their home office properly. Computerworld recommends choosing a space that is specifically designated as “Mom’s office,” ideally “a small room that can hold a desk and computer equipment and whose door can be shut for the essential need to separate work life from home life.”

You’ll be spending a lot of time in your home office, so make sure you have a quality, comfortable chair that aids in good ergonomics, and don’t neglect adequate lighting -- if possible, allow in as much natural light as possible. Besides other essentials like a sturdy desk, a filing system and shelving, consider adding plants, which Healthline notes have been shown to sharpen one’s focus and improve indoor air quality.

●      Cut unnecessary spending. Saving money at work is important, especially if you have employees to pay. There are a few ways that you can cut expenses, such as buying equipment that you currently lease, outsourcing IT operations, and cutting down to a four-day workweek, even if your employees are remote.

●      Maximize comfort by adjusting your monitor. As a WAHM, you’re pulling double duty as a working mom, and certain factors during your workday may compound the stress. One of these calls for a simple fix: adjust your monitor height to be in that “sweet spot.” Follow this advice from Flexjobs.com to avoid unnecessary strain to your neck and eyes:

• Your spine should always stay in a neutral position.

• The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level.

• Place the monitor at least 20 inches from your eyes, farther away if you’ve got a large monitor.

• Your eyes should look slightly down when looking at the middle of the screen to help keep your neck in proper alignment. Tilt the monitor back 10 to 20 degrees to ensure you’re looking down on the screen at an angle. If you wear bifocals, tip the screen back to between 30 and 45 degrees to ensure you’re not tilting your head back to focus.

As a WAHM, you have already accepted challenges. But that doesn’t mean that other bumps won’t show up along the way. From navigating family time to optimizing your office space, you’re going to have to make tough decisions every day. But you’ve got this -- and every choice you make today will have a positive impact on your work and your family tomorrow.

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